Saving Grace
by Acer Quercus
Summary: Kyoko is the Head Priestess, and is greatly revered and respected. One day, a young man comes along, claiming that he is no longer worth love or happiness. Kyoko, having lived most of her life helping people, decides to help the man overcome his demons, and starts wanting him to happy for more selfish reasons than she started with.
1. In Which The Situation Is Explained

Ah.

I was finally done with my responsibilities to the community. Now all that was left in my long day to finish was my duties to the temple to honor the Master.

This was one of the more enjoyable tasks, as it was a time for me to reflect upon myself and to connect with the spirit of the Master. I had become a servant of our Master by going through the rigorous process of being selected as a priestess at my local temple. The priestess before me there still believed in all the old traditions and, most importantly, the existence of our Master. So many of those who are sworn to our goddess aren't convinced that she actually exists, all the time trying to convince others to believe in the same deity. It's so hypocritical, but I understand why they do it, and why it's important for everyone to believe. Because mortals are not perfect, they need someone to blame in times of bad fortune, and someone to look up to in order to better themselves.

Due to the fact that I had learned under someone who believed, and had always myself been convinced that a higher power must exist, when I told someone to continue having faith in the Goddess and life, it came from the heart and was an absolute truth that I myself held. I think it makes a difference, that it's obvious when you are first being true to yourself and then spreading this truth, rather than trying to convince yourself and others of something you do not believe.

In any case, I seemed to have a skill in assuring people that things would get better, that the Master would not look upon her subjects so uncaringly, as she asked nothing of us, then what other wish could she have of us besides that of wanting us to be happy? It helped people feel stable and loved, and that was extremely important especially in these uncertain times full of strife and violence.

And at some time this was noticed by a high priest in our region, and I was relocated to be a priestess at one of the bigger temples in a more important city. Even though this new city was not that large, about sixty thousand residents, it was a huge change from what I had been used to all my life. It felt like there were people bustling around and doing stuff all the time, even though I would later consider it to be a very calm place. At the new temple, there were multiple priestesses, and a lot more to do in a day. With so many people coming for guidance, it would not be possible to help them all individually, so at this place there were mass lectures, blessings, and the priestesses only talked to the people in person if it was truly of importance. It seemed so much more impersonal and cold, and it made me wonder if any of these people were actually being helped. With this in mind, I made it a point to stand by the entrance to the main room, where these gatherings took place, at the beginning and end of each and make sure to at least give everyone a smile and, when they were looking especially down or troubled, ask them what was wrong and whether I could help them. While it wasn't much, I hoped that I was making a difference. I was enjoying myself, feeling that I really was making something better, I had a few friends and I was on good terms with the head priestess. But of course this bubble of happiness was not to last. The head priestess, who was quite old, had died in her sleep, saved from having to bear any misery by the Goddess, a favor granted for years of faithful service. It fell onto the other priestesses, including myself, to go through the burial and passing on ceremonies for a servant of the Goddess, especially one of high rank. After the prescribed mourning period had passed, we awaited the instructions of the head priestess of our region on who was going to become the new head priestess. It was a time of much jealousy and faked commitment, everyone vying for the position. And then the letter came. Thick white paper, with a green wax seal and flowing golden calligraphy. I was not part of the throng who crowded the messenger, I was almost late and as such just stood awkwardly against the wall, not having any wish to be trampled. After breaking the seal for all of us to see, the messenger started reading. You would have thought that we would have the sense to be quiet at such an important moment, but the opposite occurred, until the phrase "The next Head Priestess of the Jast Division will be -" was uttered, at which point it was dead silent.

And the name? It would change everything forever.

"Priestess Mogami"


	2. In Which Friends Are Introduced

What followed was a tumultuous few weeks during which I had many ceremonies to attend, letters to write and new roles to establish. But at the end, I was the new figure of authority in town.

I had not anticipated all of the additional duties I now had to take care of, or all the new intricacies of the higher tiers of the Church. It was stressful, but in these hard times, one person helped me. My dear friend, Kanae. Speaking of which, here she comes.

"Kyoko! How great to see you. Won't you go deal with the new trainees? I cannot understand what is wrong with them, or why they think they can do half of the things they do. I mean, who would be so dumb as to be cursing people inside the walls of the World Temple!"

"Moko-san, I'm sure the girl had a reason. Let's do something fun and not worry about that!"

"But it's important! This is the main place in which we worship our Goddess, and goodness, and this girl is cursing people in a demonic way! I don't even see-"

"MOKO-SAN! It's fine! Look, do you want to waste your time with your precious friend arguing about a silly trainee or do you want to make happy, shiny memories?"

She was quiet for a few beats, and then mumbled something under her breath. To Kanae's annoyance, I was able to understand the gist of what she said.

"What do you mean that I'm not your precious friend? Is all the love I've given you all for nothing?"

By this time I was almost in tears, I felt so betrayed by my dear friend and wondered why she spent so much time with me if she did not care about me.

"You know that's not what I meant! Now stop overreacting, you crybaby. I'm busy. I can't deal with more drama from you! I already have enough as it is. If you're not going to help me with venting, then I might as well go back out!"

I was only somewhat relieved at her saying that I had come to the wrong conclusion, but I wasn't convinced, because if she really was my friend, then why was she already leaving? I also felt so bad that I couldn't help her, and instead caused her more problems. I was a terrible friend!

"Look, I'm not actually mad at you, but I really am busy. Also, don't you have things to be doing, Most High And Elevated World Priestess?"

At that, my heart soared. Now I knew that my dear friend wasn't actually mad. And she made a fair point. Both of us had many, many tasks to do in a day, with little time to spare. Afterall, one does not rise to the position of World Priestess from a small country girl without a ton of effort and work. I had climbed the ladder in the Church from Head Priestess to a Regional Head Priestess, and then to a bigger area with more and more people, at which point I finally reached the top. And once I was there, I made sure that Kanae was as close to me as possible. Even though I certainly am biased, I think she does a terrific job and completely deserves it. After all, someone _would_ notice if she rapidly climbed the ranks while doing nothing at all to justify it.

But for today, I had looked at my schedule and for some reason there was a lot less to do. I even had some free time! Even so, it would look better and I would seem more dedicated if I continued to work. That in mind, I thought back to my conversation with Kanae. Even though I had tried to tell her that the behaviour of our trainee who was cursing someone was not a big deal, it actually was.

Especially if the girl was seen by visitors doing something like that ….

Perhaps I would make a visit to the trainee common room and see if I could find her. It could do some good to take her aside and ask her what had pushed her to do something like that.

Everyone hates at some point. There was once a boy who betrayed all my trust and love … but it doesn't matter anymore. At some point you realize that everything happens for a reason, and that it's better just to forgive and go on with your life, being happy with the good things and working to have more magical moments like those, and not to dwell. What good would it do you? Does it reverse the atrocious deed of the other person?

No?

I thought so.

It was in the common room that I realized that I had no way of knowing which girl it was that had Kanae so annoyed. But, inexplicably, something happened that hadn't in years. My little anger demons, which I did my best to hide, and, in such a loving and caring environment, usually had no reason to come out, started getting extremely excited. And then I saw why: sitting in the corner was young woman with short black hair, writing furiously in a journal.

 **A/N : A guest reviewer notified me of the formatting problems, so hopefully this fixes the problem. Thank you guys so much!**


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